One step closer to protecting older Australians

The StopElder Financial Abuse campaign today held a Federal Parliament launch tobrief Members and Senators on the actions needed to tackle the growing problem.

Speakingat the launch Attorney General Christian Porter announced his plan for the nextCouncil of Attorneys General meeting to set baseline standards of a nationalmodel of Power of Attorneys to enable a national register to be established.

CEO of the Australian Banking Association Anna Bligh saidthe launch was an important opportunity to bring the issue to the front andcentre of the minds of the nation’s decision makers ahead of the Council ofAttorneys General meeting in November.

“The industry welcomes Attorney General Christian Porter’sdetermination and leadership to progress these reforms, along with action fromthe state governments, at the upcoming Council of Attorneys General meeting inNovember,” Ms Bligh said.

BrendonHill, CEO of Bauer Media said: “Elder financial abuse disproportionallyaffects women, with six in ten Australians saying they are worried someonethey know will be the victim of this insidious practice.

“As anorganisation that talks to, champions and celebrates women of all ages, BauerMedia is committed to working closely with the ABA and others to drivemeaningful change,” he said.

NicoleByers, editor-in-chief of The Australian Women’s Weekly, said: “We arecampaigning for three important reforms which will go some way to ensuring thisabuse is significantly eroded and we hope, eventually eradicated.

“TheAustralian Women’s Weekly has campaigned for the empowerment of women fordecades and we’re delighted to be leading this important initiative,” shesaid.

CraigGear, CEO of the Older Persons Advocacy Network, said a better system was needed,without differences from state to state, to help address the issue.

“Today’sannouncement of a way forward on Power of Attorney reforms is a very welcomestep by the Federal Government and we encourage all State Governments to moveahead on this initiative as quickly as possible,” Mr Gear said.

“Laws thatare the same in each state, plus a national online register, will mean elderlypeople can put their affairs in order without the added stress of updating itor starting again should they choose to move,” he said.

A recentsurvey by YouGov revealed 57% of Australians are worried about a loved oneexperiencing financial abuse and 87% of Australians want their government to domore to tackle the issue. It is estimated that around 1 in 10 older Australiansexperience elder abuse in any given year, with the prevalence of neglectpossibly higher.

TheAustralian Banking Association and Bauer Media have teamed up, along with the SeniorsRights Service, Elder Abuse Action Australia, the Older Persons Advocacy Networkand the Council on the Ageing, to campaign for three key changes which cantackle the growing issue of elder financial abuse.

The campaign specificallycalls on governments across Australia to act and establish:

Power of Attorney laws which are the same acrossthe country and protect people from this kind of abuse.

A National Power of Attorney (POA) register tocheck if POA documents are legitimate and current.

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